RE:TDI
by Brokenlynx21
Summary: When a challenge sends the 22 campers to a certain infected city, who will make it out alive? Rated M for violence and some language. After a long hiatus, the story continues with Chapter 18!
1. Bridgette's Delimma

**Chapter 1**

**Bridgette's Dilemma**

"Help!"

A young blonde girl ran through the alley franticly, calling for someone to come help her.

"Some one! Anyone! Please help me!"

No one answered.

Her voice broke the midnight silence. The moon was bright, shining down on the sleeping, dark city. There was no sound, except for the surfer girl…and her pursuer.

He stepped into a small puddle as he chased her, very slowly yet determined.

Bridgette looked back, and caught a glimpse of her chaser. She could see his silhouette outlined by the street lamp behind him. She was running as hard as she could, but she couldn't manage to lose him. He reached his hand out at her, reaching for her even though he was several feet behind her.

The girl wasn't paying any attention to where she was stepping. She stepped into a puddle, and slipped. Her body was thrown forward, and she fell to the ground. Her ankle hurt, and she was scared that she had twisted it. She looked behind her, and froze when she saw the dark figure gaining on her.

"Why?" she thought to herself.

His shadow draped over her as she closed her eyes.

"Why is this happening?"

As he bent down over her, he let out a low moan. She started crying.

"Geoff…help me…"

Her pursuer opened his mouth, and saliva dripped from his lips. He lunged at her, mouth first.

CLANG!

Surprised, Bridgette looked up to see the chaser falling over to the side, his head limp. There was an arm outstretched over her, holding a metal pipe. It had a pink sleeve on. She followed the arm up to its shoulder, and saw who it had been that saved her.

"Phew, you okay Bridge?"

"Geoff!"

The young man lifted the brim of his cowboy hat from his face. He looked tired and worried, but he managed to smile at her.

"That was close! C'mon, lets get outta here."

Bridgette nodded and the two of them ran out of the alley, leaving behind the body of the chaser. He lay there in a pool of blood, his skin already torn and decayed.

**My first story!**

**Comment and Review!**


	2. In the Case of Heather

**Chapter 2**

**In the Case of Heather**

"How the hell did I end up with this group?"

The raven-haired girl looked behind at the three people following her. Closest to her were Lindsay and Beth. Lindsay, despite their horrifying setting, was looking as pretty as ever. Opposite of her was Beth, who, for lack of better words, didn't look as good as Lindsay.

Beth slid her glasses back up her nose.

"This place ith tho thcary…" Beth's braces gave her a unique lisp.

"I know… Its so dirty here…" said Lindsay, as ditzy and clueless as ever.

They weren't too bad though, thought Heather. She knew that she could get them to do what she said, no questions asked.

But the one she wasn't so sure about was…

"Don't worry guys! I'm here to protect you!"

The large, loud-mouthed boy threw his fist into the air. Then he farted, and laughed to himself.

"EWW, OWEN!! That's so nasty!" said Heather as she covered her face in disgust.

She pulled herself together, and looked down at the map of the city she was holding. There was a big, red star near the center of the map. As she tried to figure out how to get to that location, she stopped when a loud noise caught her off guard.

The sound of dog barks echoed through the streets.

Heather, in her usual bitchy tone, said "Lets start moving a little quicker now, shall we?"

Everyone groaned.

"Were those doggies?" asked Lindsay.

"They didn't thound very nice…" Beth replied nervously. "I wonder if they're angry…"

Heather, judging from the sound of things, wasn't about to stick around to find out. She could hear the sound of more barking, followed by shrill screams that made her hair stand on end.

**Dog's? Screams? I wonder whats going on... To be continued!  
**


	3. The First Blood is Spilled

**Chapter 3**

**The First Blood is Spilled**

"Oh my gawd… It soooo creepy here!"

"I know! Sooooo creepy!"

The _twins_ were having a hard time walking, seeing as how they were wrapped around each other, cheek to cheek.

Behind them, a young man in a toque heaved a heavy sigh.

"Shut it, you sexist jerk!"

"Yeah, sexist!"

Ezekiel rolled his eyes.

"Don't get mad at me, eh? You're the ones who wanted to follow me."

Both girls gave out a loud "Hmph!"

As they turned the street corner, the _twins_ saw something that caught their eyes. They jumped at first, before realizing what it was.

A four-legged figure laid there, with its back turned to the group.

"Oh my gawd, it's a doggie!"

"It looks so cute! Lets go say hi!"

Both girls let out a high-pitched squeal as they darted for the dog.

Their loud, giddy footsteps roused the sleeping dog. Katie reached out to pet it, when it suddenly turned around and clamped its jaws down on her hand.

"AH! OWW!" she wailed as she tried to shake the dog off.

She got loose, and Sadie went to check on her friend.

The dog stepped into the light of a lamppost, and Ezekiel's eyes grew very big.

"GIRLS! RUN!"

The girls, confused, looked up at the dog and screamed. Much of its flesh was missing, exposing its muscles and bones. One of its eyes was missing, and a mix of blood and saliva dripped from its sharp-toothed mouth. It gave out a huge bark as it pounced at Katie, knocking her down.

"Katie!" yelled Sadie, as her skinnier friend fell to the ground.

"Get if off me!" shouted Katie, struggling to keep the dog from biting her face. Sadie ran over and tried to pull the dog off of her friend.

There was the faint sound of footsteps coming from the distance. Ezekiel could hear more barking. Before she could react, Sadie was overrun by even more vicious dogs.

Both girls were screaming, their arms waving wildly.

Ezekiel stood, horrified. He looked around and saw a brick lying on the sidewalk. He dashed over to grab it.

"I'll save you!" he shouted as he picked up the brick.

Then, from behind, he felt sharp teeth sink into his other arm. He looked, and saw the dog tugging at him. He tried, but couldn't shake it off.

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

He could hear the girls screaming.

"GAH! HELP!"

"EZEKIEL!"

Their screaming turned to gargling.

Then the girls went silent as the dogs picked at their bodies.

He knew they were dead.

Ezekiel turned to the dog on his arm. He took the brick in his hand, and slammed it into the dog's face. It gave out a loud "yelp" as it fell to the ground.

His arm bleeding, Ezekiel started to run. He looked back at the girls, who were now nothing more than dog food. The sound of the dogs snapping at their flesh and bones echoed the streets with wet snarls and bites. He regretted not being able to save them.

Pale and stricken with horror, Ezekiel made a mad dash for someplace, "anyplace…", that was safer.

**Two have died... What will happen to Ezekiel? What about the other campers? What exactly are they doing in this "Raccoon" of a City? (hint hint...)**

**Next episode: Duncan and Courtney!**


	4. Where are we going?

**Chapter 4**

**"Where are we going?"**

"Excuse me, where are going?"

"Just be quiet and follow me, _princess_."

Working their way through the maze of streets and alleyways, Duncan and Courtney had managed to avoid any _close encounters_ since they had first ran into each other.

It was a little more than half an hour ago, when the delinquent ran across his beloved princess being cornered by a woman in tattered, bloodstained clothes. He picked up a baseball bat left behind by some kid, and hurried to save his girl. As the rotting woman lunged in to take a bite out of Courtney's neck, Duncan rushed up and slammed the aluminum bat into the woman's head. He knocked the woman back, but she turned around to grab at Duncan. The juvenile quickly hit her again, and the woman's blood splattered all over the baseball bat. He grabbed Courtney's hand and they ran off, not noticing that the woman slowly stood back up.

Duncan led Courtney through the downtown alleys, saying nothing about where they were headed.

"Could you _please_-"

"Will you shut it? Just trust me on this." He knew what he was doing, and he didn't need her whining every 2 minutes. "Just hope we don't run into anything..."

Courtney crossed her arms and huffed in annoyance.

"He could at least give me something to protect myself with…"

**Whats Duncan's plan? With these two working behind the scene, what is going on with everyone else?**

**On the next episode: What about Trent and Gwen?**


	5. His Lost Love

**Chapter 5**

**His Lost Love**

Under the bright moon, a lone figure ran. His hair disheveled and camo shirt soaked with sweat, he shouted out for a certain someone that meant more to him than anything else.

"Gwen! Gwen!"

His noise hadn't gone unnoticed. Though not Gwen, there were many of those that were happy to answer his call. Grabbing and biting, they tried their best to get a taste of the shouting musician. With a broomstick stick he had found, Trent would beat them back and continue his search.

"Gwen, where are you?"

He ran down the street, and turned a corner. He stopped, and his fast paced breathing quickly became faster. There were at least fifteen or twenty of them, and all of them turned to look at him. He looked around quickly, and then dashed for an apartment building. He ran up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. The mob had started to move now, and was already catching up with him. Trent tried to kick the door down, and managed to loosen it up a little. He slammed himself at the door. The door gave, and Trent found himself on the ground. He got up, panting, and started running down a hall, trying to find a back door.

He found one, and ran outside into an alley. He managed to lose the mob of _them_. He looked around, and started running again. He looked up at the moon as he ran.

"Gwen, please be safe…"

He ran through a puddle of water.

""Be safe. Don't worry, I'll find you."

**  
Will Trent be able to find the girl he loves?**

**Next episode: A Brief Respite**


	6. A Brief Respite

**Chapter 6**

**Brief Respite**

Geoff and Bridgette ran down he steps to the subway. With no one checking tickets, they hopped over the terminal, and ran down to the platform.

"Are you sure its safe down here, Geoff?"

"I sure hope so."

When they reached the platform, there happened to be a train with its doors open. The looked around first to make sure it was safe to keep going. When it was clear, they went inside. The lights in the subway car were still on. The two of them sat down on a couple of seats and let out loud sighs.

"I hope everyone else is doing okay…"

Geoff looked over at the worried girl. He walked over, and sat next to her. He put his arm around her, and held her close to him.

"Don't worry Bridge. I'm sure they're all doing alright."

He looked down at her.

"Get some rest, okay?" he said gently.

She looked at him, and smiled. She was so happy that he had found her. She nestled her head on him, and closed her eyes.

Geoff thought to himself as Bridgette fell asleep.

"I've got Bridgette…"  
"I don't need to worry about Duncan. I'm sure he's found Courtney, and I know he'll keep her safe."  
The party boy scratched his head.  
"I wonder about the others though. I sure hope DJ…"

Just then, the sound of a cabin door opening startled Geoff. He looked at the other end of the subway car.

"Geoff…? Bridgette…?"

A big, tall figure stood there.

Geoff's face lit up.

"DJ!"

DJ's face was worn out and tired, but a big smile crossed his face.

"Good to see you too, man."

******A small ray of hope shines on Geoff and Bridgette. With DJ safe, maybe all the others are too.**

******Next episode: No Place is Safe**


	7. No Place is Safe

**Chapter 7**

**No Place is Safe**

Up on the 5th floor of the hospital, Justin, Cody, and Noah all looked out the window at a very hungry crowd that wanted them for dinner.

"Great, now we're trapped up here! There's no way we can get out. Who's brilliant idea was it to hide here in the Hospital?"

"Um, that would be yours, dude." Said Cody

Justin simply nodded, his gorgeous smile turned upside-down.

Noah threw his book to the floor, and let out a loud shout of frustration. He stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind him. He apparently had forgotten that his uproar could possibly attract some unwanted guests.

"Crap! Something is going to hear him! We gotta catch up with him and keep quiet!

The tech-nerd grabbed a crutch that was leaning against the wall, and the male model picked up a fire extinguisher he had found in the hall earlier. They quickly chased after Noah, running down the hallway after him. They didn't notice that as they left the room, a leech had fallen out the A/C vent on the ceiling.

* * *

Noah was pacing back and forth in the main lobby on the first floor.

"How am I supposed to work with those two _geniuses_? The geek is annoying as hell, and Mr. Perfect-everything doesn't ever speak a word! I guess models are only good for their faces, and nothing else." He stopped and took long breath. The know-it-all found himself a bench, and tried his best to calm down. He took another deep breath.

He failed to notice the _plopping_ noise behind him. Leeches started falling from the ceiling, and started to converge together. They slowly built themselves up, with two legs and two arms. They had massed together as some sort of humanoid. The "Leech Man" slowly reached towards Noah. Its hands outstretched their way around Noah's neck, and were closing around him.

"Noah! Watch Out!"

Noah, startled, looked up and saw Cody running towards him with his crutch held forward like a lance.

"What are you doing?"

The Know-it-all jerked to the side to try and get out of the way, when he felt a wet, slimy sensation on the side of his face.

"What the?"

He turned around, only to see the leech creature staring right back at him. Before he could react, the monster grabbed his face and pulled him closer. Through the creature's hand, Noah could see the mass of slimy leeches just as Cody stabbed it with his crutch. The monster's upper body blew everywhere, covering both Cody and Noah in slime.

"Gah!" Noah yelped as his face was freed from the Leech Man's grasp.

The monster's legs still stood there, and the leeches started building themselves back up into their human form again. Justin got behind it, and swung his fire extinguisher at them, splattering them across the room. Grabbing Noah, Cody and Justin quickly ran over to an elevator and pushed the call button. When the doors opened they ran inside, and pushed the "close doors" button.

* * *

Everyone was breathing heavily.

"Wow, thanks a lot guys. Way to get me completely soaked in slime." Noah said sarcastically.

"Hey, show a little appreciation. We just save your life, man!" blurted out Cody, still panting from their encounter.

Noah looked at the floor. After a long pause, he looked back up at them.

"Thanks for saving my life." He said reluctantly.

Justin smiled, and patted the cynical teen on the back.

"We could try the garage. There may be an ambulance there that we can use. Even if there isn't, we probably would have a better chance getting out from there than through the front doors." suggested Noah.

* * *

After waiting in the elevator for half an hour, the guys came to a decision.

"We're going to have to go back out to the lobby though…" Cody said, worriedly.

The other two didn't look too excited about that either. They all took a deep breath, and prepared themselves.

Noah looked at the others, who nodded to him. He pushed the "open doors" button. As the doors slowly opened up, the guys looked around to make sure the way was clear. They surveyed to room, and smiled. There wasn't anything to worry about.

"C'mon, lets find the garage." Cody whispered. They hastily made their way across the room. Justin looked back, and a small chill went up his spine. There wasn't any sign of the Leech Man, but that was what had frightened him. All the leeches that they had splattered all over the room were gone. There wasn't a single trace of them.

They managed to find the garage, and were lucky enough to find an ambulance with its keys still in the ignition. The driver's dead body was sprawled across the floor, but they didn't pay any mind to it. They were too excited to have found an escape vehicle to care about anything else.

Justin jumped into the driver's seat, while Cody called the passenger's seat and Noah jumped into the back. The male model started the ambulance up, and pushed down on the gas pedal. As they started moving, there was the sound of loud _thumps_ from the roof of the vehicle.

"What was that?" asked Cody, as he looked out the window.

CRASH!

The glass shattered and a slimy appendage reached into the passenger's seat and pulled Cody out the window.

"CODY!" yelled Noah from the back.

The tech-geek's scream's pierced everyone's ears. Then they heard something fall onto the street behind them.

Suddenly, the leech monster stuck its head through the passenger window. In reached into the vehicle, and stretched its long, slimy arm out at Justin. Noah grabbed Justin's fire extinguisher, and sprayed it into the creature's face before it managed to grab the model's face. Justin abruptly stepped on the breaks, and the monster was thrown off the side of the ambulance.

Noah looked out the back window, and saw Cody's dead body lying in the road.

"Go! Go! Drive, now!"

Justin slammed down on the gas pedal, and the two of them sped off.

In the street, Cody's body lay still and limp. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were still wide with fear. Very slowly, a small leech crawled its way out of his mouth.

**Another camper dead. Though Noah and Justin managed to escape the hospital, can they escape the horrors that await them?**

**Next Episode: Almost There**


	8. Almost There

**Chapter 8**

**Almost There**

Her feet were hurting now. They hadn't resting at all. They just kept walking, and he still hasn't said anything about where they were going.

"Duncan! Tell me where we're going!"

"I thought I said for you to shut up."

"Oh, I'm so fed up with this!"

The boy with the green Mohawk turned around and put his hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet! D'you _want_ one of those things to find us?"

Courtney shook her head. She still looked a little defiant though. She was thinking about turning around and leaving him right that second, and he could see it in her eyes. But he knew she wouldn't.

"Still…"

He took his hand off of her mouth.

"Look, we both know that we need each other. You'll get lost if you didn't have me around." Duncan said, trying to make her more at ease. It wasn't like him, but given the situation they're all in, it wouldn't make anything worse.

Sadly, he was right about needing each other, and she knew it. If it weren't for him, she would already have been killed. She still needed to thank him for that.

"But not now. Maybe later."

* * *

He was getting fed up with her constant whining. Then again, he kind of liked it when she was frustrated.

He had to stay focused on his goal though. He looked at the map, and saw the big red star near the center of the city. Only three people were given maps: Heather, Izzy, and himself. By now, one of the other two had to have made it to the red star. That wasn't where he was headed though. There was someplace else far much more important than the stupid challenge. They needed to hurry.

"Hey Princess, c'mon! Keep up!"

He could hear her groan. He smiled.

The two of them stepped out of the dark alleyway into the light of a street corner. Duncan looked up at the street sign at the corner, and then down at his map. He grabbed Courtney's arm, and pulled her back into the alley.

"Duncan, what are you doing? What is it?

He smiled at her.

"We're almost there!"

**Almost where? What is it Duncan's after?**

**Next episode: A Wounded Friend**


	9. A Wounded Friend

**Chapter 9**

**A Wounded Friend**

"So, like, you were here the whole time?"

"Yeah. When I found him out there, I had to find someplace safe to let him rest."

DJ pointed over to a young man lying on one of the subway benches. His arm looked torn up. He had on a blue toque.

"Man, Zeke's in pretty bad shape." said Geoff. "I wonder what happened to him."

"He said something about dogs… When I found him, he looked like he was about to pass out. His arm was bleeding really bad. He mentioned the dogs, and something else before he passed out."

Geoff looked at DJ.

"What else did he say, dude?

DJ sighed an said "Katie and Sadie are dead…"

Geoff's eyes widened.

* * *

Bridgette slowly opened up her eyes. She looked across from her, and saw Ezekiel sleeping on the bench.

"Ezekiel?"

She quickly got up, and saw his arm. She gasped, and ran over to him. She knew a bit of first aid, but didn't have anything to treat his wounds with.

"Bridgette!"

She turned around and saw Geoff and DJ.

"DJ! You're okay!" Bridgette's face broke into a smile, but quickly looked more concerned and worried.

"What happened? When did you get here? Ezekiel is hurt! What happened to him? Did you-"

"Don't worry Bridgette. I already cleaned his arm, and managed to stop the bleeding." DJ said calmly. "I found a first-aid kit here on the train. I didn't really know what I was doing. I wasn't able to bandage him up, though." The big guy held up a roll of bandages.

Bridgette nodded. She took the bandages and started wrapping up the sleeping Ezekiel's arm.

* * *

After wrapping and making a sling for Ezekiel's arm, the surfer girl walked over to Geoff. She had an antsy look on her face, and was slightly bouncing up and down.

"Geoff, I really need to pee. Walk me to the restroom?"

The guy in the cowboy hat nodded. They walked out onto the platform, and saw the restrooms. Bridgette quickly darted inside.

"Hurry up, okay?

"Alright!" yelled Bridgette from inside the restroom.

Bridgette saw the toilet seat in the stall, and was surprised at how clean it was given the state of the city outside. She sat down, and let nature take its course. She felt a wave of relief crawl up her back.

She closed her eyes for a second. She couldn't see that a long, pink, flexible, cable-like _thing_ lowering from overhead.

The surfer girl finished up and pulled her shorts back on. She felt something brush against her arm.

"Hm?"

She turned to look, only to have the long cable wrap around her body. It squeezed her tightly and lifted her up off of the ground. She let out a scream.

"Ahhhh! Geoff, help!"

* * *

DJ and a just woken up Ezekiel walked up to Geoff, though Ezekiel was still slightly dizzy.

"Hey dude, good to see you up and walkin' around!"

"Uh, thanks." said the boy with his arm in a sling.

"Bridge in the bathroom?" asked DJ.

The pink-shirted cowboy nodded, just as a loud scream came out from the restroom door.

"Oh no! She's in trouble!"

The three guys ran inside, and saw Bridgette dangling in the air. There was a creature on the ceiling, holding her up but what looked like its tongue.

"BRIDGETTE, NO!"

**With the subway not as safe as they though, how will Geoff, DJ, and a wounded Ezekiel deal with this monster and save Bridgette?**

**Next episode: Alone in the Dark**


	10. Alone in the Dark

**Chapter 10**

**Alone in the Dark**

There weren't any bells. No noisy chatter. No sounds of lockers being opened and slammed shut. There wasn't anything, until the sound of doors opening echoed through the hallways of the high school.

Panting and gasping for air, Leshawna slammed the doors shut behind her. She pressed her back against the doors, and slowly slid down to the ground. She was worn out, having ran since the challenge began. Her dark, sweat soaked skin shimmered in the moonlight. Little droplets fell from her forehead.

"What… What the hell is this? Those people look like they're dead, their skin fallin' off an' ev'rything…"

She tried to stand up. She put her hand on the wall to keep her balance as she slowly stood up.

"I need…to find someplace…someplace safe… And I gotta find somethin' to…to protect myself with…"

She paused for a second.

"Harold…"

SMASH

The glass window on the door shattered. A hand reached in, grabbing at the girl. Its fingers managed to grab her hair. She felt the tug and jerked forward, pulling her hair loose. The door came down seconds after. A crowd of hungry, dead faced attackers stood in the doorsill, and slowly made their way inside.

Leshawna sprinted down the hall to escape, but stopped suddenly when she saw two shadows coming around the corner. Two figures, who had apparently been teachers in their past "living" lives, made their way around the corner with arms outstretched and mouths salivating. They were aiming for Leshawna.

"Oh shit!"

Leshawna looked around for an exit. The slow moving assailants closed in on her from both sides. With nowhere to go, she turned to the two former teachers.

"No where to run… I'll have to force my way out!"

She prepared herself.

"I can handle two of them better than ten."

The girl grabbed one of the teachers and threw them down to the floor. The other one grabbed her arm and pulled it closer to its mouth. Leshawna struggled to free her arm. She jerked and pulled, but couldn't break the fiend's grasp. She was exhausted and barely had any energy left in her.

She started getting frantic. The teacher she had thrown to the ground was standing back up. It grabbed her other arm and wouldn't let go. Both attackers reached their heads to her arms; mouths open and ready to take a bite. Leshawna's eyes widened.

"Oh no you don't!"

With her last bit of strength, Leshawna swung both of her arms free, knocking the hungry teachers to the ground. Winded, the tired girl fell down on one knee. Her breaths were shallow and quick. She looked at the fallen monsters and smiled.

"Heh… I told you… You…you ain't getting' me!"

She heard a low moan behind her, and her heart sank. She had forgotten about the ones who had originally chased her into the school.

She tried to turn around, but felt a sharp pain on her neck. There was pressure, followed by the feeling of teeth sinking into her skin.

"Gaaaaaaaah! Bitch!"

She threw her head back, knocking the fiend back. She pulled away, but felt something on her neck rip. It was her flesh. Blood was pouring down from her shoulder. She stood up, holding her neck. She backed away from the monsters, and then felt another sharp pain in her leg. She screamed so loud that it could be heard from outside the school building.

Leshawna pulled her leg away and saw one of the teachers on the ground. There was blood all over its mouth. She could feel he warm blood running down her leg.

The dark-skinned girl stumbled away from the mob. Desperate, she made her way around the corner. There was an open janitor's closet, and she limped her way inside. She closed the door, and fell to the ground. The room was pitch-black.

"Harold…where are you…?"

She sat alone in the darkness.

"I need you…"

A tear ran down her face.

**Alone and scared, what fate awaits Leshawna? And what about Harold? Where exactly is he in the horrific city? Will he be able to find Leshawna?**

**Next episode: Through the Tunnels**


	11. Through the Tunnels

**Chapter 11**

**Through the Tunnels**

The room echoed with an eerie clicking-noise that came from the creature's mouth. It had no eyes or skin, its entire body pick with exposed muscle. Its mouth was wide open with its tongue sticking out and wrapped around Bridgette. Her eyes were closed, and her body was limp.

"Bridgette!"

Geoff, DJ, and Ezekiel were standing in the doorway, shocked by the creature and its hold on the surfer girl.

DJ's eyes grew wide, and his breath started getting quicker. Panicked and afraid, the big guy looked like he was about to turn and run off. Ezekiel was also starting to back away, scared from the horrific creature's grotesque appearance. He was also still for to weak to do anything.

Geoff didn't let his fear conquer him. He couldn't. His girl was in trouble and he had to save her, no matter what.

"Hang on! I'll save you!"

He looked around, and couldn't find anything he could use s a weapon. He still had the metal pipe from when he had first found Bridgette, and pulled it out. Geoff threw it at the creature's face, and managed to land a solid hit. The creature flinched, and lost its grip on Bridgette. She fell to the ground, and landed with a thud.

"Bridgette!"

Geoff ran over to his girl to make sure she was okay. He lifted her up and called out her name. She slowly opened her eyes, still dazed and confused.

"Geoff…?"

Geoff felt a pang of relief, and smiled. He didn't realize, however, that the monster had made its way behind him. Its tongue extended from its nasty mouth, and made its way for the party-animal. Geoff felt its tongue rub against his shoulder, and froze.

"Yaaaaa!"

Someone started yelling loudly, and it startled the monster. It pulled its tongue back, and looked behind itself. Before it could get a good look, it screeched out in pain. Geoff picked up Bridgette and carried her over to the side. After setting her down, he looked to see what had happened.

Standing over the creature was DJ, holding a piece of broken glass. His hand was bleeding. Geoff could see that one of the mirrors by the sinks was shattered. The big guy grasped the glass firmly with his hand, and drove it back into the creature. It shrieked again, and tried to stab its tongue at DJ. The linebacker quickly took the piece of glass, and swung it down, piercing the tongue and pinning down to the ground. He grabbed another piece, and jammed it into the monster's head. It screamed one last time before falling to the ground, dead.

DJ fell to him knees, exhausted. Geoff called out to him.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Yeah man… I'm fine…"

The big guy looked at his bleeding hand.

Ezekiel finally piped in, saying, "Uh guys, I think we should get out of here, eh?"

Everyone agreed, and they made their way out of the bathroom. Geoff took Bridgette's arm over his shoulder and escorted her out.

* * *

"Where are we gonna go? The surface isn't any more safe than down here!" DJ said, as Bridgette was bandaging up his hand.

"The tunnels!" exclaimed Geoff. "We can use the tunnels to avoid the chaos up there, and maybe find a way out."

The others didn't like the sound of it, but it was better than staying put or going back up to the surface. They all agreed to it, but felt they needed something to protect themselves with first.

Luckily, that found a maintenance closet. Inside were plenty of broomsticks and mops, as well as plenty of tape. They removed all of the mop and brush heads, and replaced them with whatever they could find. DJ had taken a long, skinny shard of the mirror he had broken and taped it to the stick like a spear. He had also found a large rock. The big guy fitted it onto another broomstick with tape, and decided to use it himself. Bridgette settled on using just a simple mop with no attachments, and Geoff decided to use the metal pipe he had been carrying the whole time, feeling that since it helped save the surfer girl twice that it could do it again.

The group stood at the end of the subway platform and looked down the tunnel's dark length.

"This way will take us downtown. That might be our best bet for finding help." said Bridgette, holding tight to her weapon.

The three boys nodded to signal that they were ready, and they all jumped down onto the subway tracks. The tunnel echoed every time someone landed on the tracks.

"Lets go…" Geoff said as he started walking into the tunnel.

The others followed.

* * *

After having walked for a short while, Geoff called to DJ.

"Hey DJ… Thanks for what you did earlier. I should've thanked you sooner. You really saved my butt, man."

"Hey, don't mention it. I know you would've done the same thing too."

Geoff looked at the big guy's hand wrapped up in bandages.

"But your hand-"

"Look, I wasn't about to just let you and Bridge die. You guys are my buds." DJ said with a smile. "Seven years of bad luck is better than dead friends."

Bridgette gave DJ a big hug, and then walked over to her boyfriend and hugged him even tighter.

"Thank you both for saving me. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you guys."

Geoff put an arm around her and held her close.

Ezekiel was feeling guilt inside. He hadn't done a thing when they were fighting the tongue monster in the bathroom. He just stood there, away from all the fighting.

"I'm worthless…" He thought. "I can't save anyone…"

He thought back to Katie and Sadie and how he wasn't able to anything to help them either. He slumped his head and frowned, just before suddenly getting very dizzy.

"Ugh… Guys, I don't feel too good, eh?"

The others shine their flashlights, which they had also found in the maintenance closet, on him. He was even paler than normal, and his eyes were sunken in.

"Dude, you don't look so good either. You're lookin' really sick."

"C'mon, lets hurry to the surface. Maybe we can find someone to help you." said Bridgette.

The prairie boy nodded as they continued their trek through the darkness.

Then they heard a loud squeaking noise. Everyone stopped.

"What was that?" they all asked in unison.

It sounded like something was squeaking, and hopping towards them. There were loud thumps that followed after every squeak. They were getting louder, more numerous, and closer.

"Guys, lets get out of here!" yelled Geoff.

DJ picked up Ezekiel and carried him on his back. Geoff and Bridgette stayed close to each other as they ran through the tunnels. Bridgette looked back, and gave a small whimper at what she saw.

There were giant creatures jumping at them. They looked like giant fleas. They were big, and there were lots of them.

**No rest for the weary. After escaping from one dire situation, can Geoff, Bridgette, DJ, and Ezekiel survive this one?**

**Next episode: Not the Only One**


	12. Not the Only One

Author's note: Sorry about the screw up when I first posted this chapter. Class was dismissed as I was uploading the story, and i must have accidentally chosen the wrong one. Again, sorry, but its fixed now!

**Chapter 12**

**Not the Only One**

Trent was running through the back alleys. He had finally gotten away from the monsters that were chasing him, but that didn't mean that Gwen was safe. If she was in trouble, he needed to get there in time for her.

The guitar player saw a building with its lights on. A bright neon sign hung over the entrance.

"J's bar…"

He couldn't see anyone inside, but there had to be someone there. At least, he had hoped so.

Trent opened the door, surprised that it wasn't locked. Inside were shelves of alcohol bottles, all lined up neatly behind the counter. By the big front windows were big, tall barrels that had been used as tables. The ceiling fan overhead spun slowly, casting a shadow on the walls. Trent clutched his broomstick.

"Hello? Anyone here?" he said in a cautious voice.

There wasn't any reply.

Trent tried again, this time a bit louder.

Nothing.

He took a seat at the bar and sighed.

"Looks like no one's here…"

He leaned his pole on the side of the bar and rested his head in his hands.

There came a sound from a door behind the bar. It sounded like someone quickly running down a flight of stairs. Then there was a loud thud, and it sounded as if someone had tripped and started rolling uncontrollably down the remaining stairs. Trent quickly grabbed his broomstick and jumped out of his seat. The door swung open. Trent held out his pole, ready to attack. A figure stepped out, and the musician swung his broomstick at it. He stopped short, just a couple of inches from the figure's face.

"Whoa! Dude, what the?!"

"Tyler?"

The Jock in the red track gear was looking at Trent, a lighter held tightly in his right hand.

"Trent?"

Trent pulled back his broomstick and smiled.

"Man, its good to see you. Its great to finally find someone out here."

"I know! I've been holed up in here for a while now. I hoped that the lights would, you know, get people to show up."

The two talked for several minutes. Tyler mentioned that he had been searching through the bar for anything useful, and had also been preparing an escape route in case something were to happen.

"That's pretty smart, man. Good thinking."

"Yeah, I know" the jock said, taking in a deep breath and smirking.

As the two laughed, they didn't notice the crowd building up outside the bar.

* * *

"So, I've been looking everywhere for Gwen. I have to find her and make sure she's safe."

Tyler nodded

"Yeah. I'm hoping I'll find Lindsay too. She's to beautiful to be out there, alone."

Both boys sat quietly, looking at the floor and thinking about they're loved ones.

Trent looked up.

"Hey, what do you say we-"

CRASH!

The windows on the front door busted open, and several cold, pale hands reached through.

"Shit! Oh man, what should we do?" Trent said as he held his broomstick ready.

"Dude, take the barrel tables and push them in front of the door. That'll hold them for a little bit."

Trent was surprised at how _in control_ Tyler was, given his typical clumsy nature. He took the barrels and pushed them in front of the door, avoiding the hands that were reaching in.

"There, that'll hold 'em"

The musician turned around, and saw Tyler pouring alcohol across the floor. The floor was completely covered. The jock finished soaking the floor and ran over to the door leading upstairs.

"Trent, c'mon! I have a way out!"

CRASH!

The large windows shattered, and the decaying bodies that were banging on them had finally gotten inside.

"Oh crap!"

"Lets go, dude!" yelled Tyler.

Trent ran over to the stairway and ran upstairs. Tyler held up his light and lit it. He smiled and threw it out at the crowd. In typical Tyler fashion, the lighter hit the ceiling fan instead of the floor. Luckily, the fan knocked the lighter over to the bottles of alcohol on the shelves. The bottles caught fire, lighting each other, one after another. The flames reached the ground, and ran across the floor. The hordes of flesh eaters were set ablaze.

Tyler smirked.

"Take that, you freaks!" he yelled, just before running up the stairs.

Trent was waiting in the employee lounge on the 2nd floor. Tyler ran into the room and straight for another door. He flung the door open, but it bounced back and hit him in the head. He shook it off and signaled over to Trent.

"What did you do?"

They were running up another flight of stairs.

"Those things are taken care of. The building's gonna catch fire though.

"Wait, what?!"

* * *

Out on the rooftop, Trent and Tyler looked over at a neighboring building. Trent stepped back a little. He took a running start and jumped over to the other rooftop. Tyler followed behind him. Just before jumping, the jock managed to trip on his shoelace, making him stumble and miss the jump. He started falling.

"Grah!" he grunted as he reached out for the ledge of the rooftop.

Trent quickly reached down and grabbed Tyler's wrist. He pulled the clumsy jock up to the roof with al his strength. The two sat down, taking a second to catch their breath.

"Hey…" Trent said between breaths. "Lets work together. We'll find Gwen and Lindsay together."

He looked at Tyler.

"What d'you say?

Tyler nodded.

"Yeah! Lets do it man!"

The two stood up and shook hands. They ran for the stairwell and made their way back down to the streets. They looked at the front of the bar and saw the bodies of the flesh eaters burning to a crisp. They left it all behind and started running out into the city.

"We're coming girls. Don't worry."

**The boys are safe, at least for now. How are the other groups holding up? Is Lindsay still okay? And where is Gwen?**

**Next episode: An Almost Victory**


	13. An Almost Victory

**Chapter 13**

**An Almost Victory**

"Finally! Made it!"

Heather looked down at her map. She had made it to the red star near the center of the map. Looks like she won the challenge-

"-yet again." She grinned.

They were on what seemed like an overpass that ran through the city. There were several abandoned military vehicles nearby. The road was blocked of at one end. Heather, Owen, Beth, and Lindsay walked around, confused. An overhead streetlight flickered on and off.

"I thought this was the goal?" pondered Lindsay.

There was no sign of Chris or Chef.

"What if thomething happened to them?" mentioned Beth.

"Well, something is definitely up. I won this challenge. Don't I get immunity?"

The four of them continued to look around. Owen called out for the show's host, but there was no reply. Heather walked over to one of the military trucks. There were several bodies lying around the vehicle, but they weren't moving. She jumped into the back of the truck, sat down on one of the benches, and took of her shoes. The back of the truck was dark and smelly, but she decided that it had to do.

"Hey Beth, go find the keys for this truck. If that jerk Chris isn't going to show up, we might as well get out of here." The snobby girl said as she rubbed her feet.

Beth heaved a heavy sigh and nodded. As she looked around, Heather called out to Owen and Lindsay.

"Owen you oaf! Stop wandering around and help Beth find those keys!"

The big guy ran over to Beth.

"And Lindsay! Come here and massage my feet!"

Lindsay groaned.

"C'mon! Hop to it!"

Lindsay trudged over towards Heather.

"Hey! I found them!" Beth said, pulling the keys out of the hand of one of the dead bodies.

She and Owen walked to the front of the truck. They opened the driver's door, and Beth reached in to put the keys in the ignition

"Hurry up, brace-face! Lets get going already!" yelled Heather from the back of the truck.

"Lindsay! I said massage my feet! Get your butt over here!"

The blonde girl hopped into the truck and held one of Heather's feet in her hands. She looked absolutely disgusted at her "BFF's" feet.

Heather reclined herself along the bench. She rested her head on something soft, and put her hands behind her head.

"Ow!"

The popular girl felt a sharp pain on her hand. She sat up and looked at her hand. It was bleeding.

"Huh? What the-?"

There was another sharp pain on her neck. Something was sinking into her skin.

"Ah!" she yelped as she jumped away.

Blood was running down from her shoulder.

"Heather, what is it?" asked Lindsay.

Heather knocked Lindsay out of the truck trying to turn around.

"Heather, what was that for?"

The ravenhair couldn't get a good look at the back of the truck. Then she felt something grab her hand. She looked down, and saw a hand that was missing most of its skin. She shrieked and tried to pull away, when something else grabbed her other arm. She jerked and pulled, trying to get free. She caught a glimpse of their faces. They were soldiers, but their faces looked grotesque. Their mouths were salivating.

"OHMYGOD, SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Owen and Beth ran around the truck to see what was going on, leaving the keys in the drivers seat. When they got there Lindsay was staring into the truck, horrified. The two looked in and gasped in horror.

Heather was struggling. Two bodies were hunched over her, eating away at her arms and shoulders. There was a pool of blood beneath her, and it was starting to drip out from the truck onto the road. Heather's movements started to slow down.

"Someone…help…me…" she said weakly.

One of the bodies biting at her looked up, and bent over her neck. It took a big bite, taking out a chunk of her throat.

"But…I…won…"

Heather's body went limp. The two military soldiers continued to eat her, and then looked over at the other three standing outside the truck. They were frozen in horror, unable to do anything. The military soldier started getting up, and slowly made its way towards them. It reached out, and lunged at them.

Finally coming to his senses, Owen pulled the two girls back out of the way. The approaching body fell out of the truck onto the ground.

"We gotta get out of here!"

The big guy grabbed the girls and ran down the road.

"This may be the goal, but anywhere is safer than this."

Lindsay and Beth looked behind as even more seemingly dead bodies rose up and climbed into the back of the truck to finish up their feast.

**The bloodshed continues. With Katie, Sadie, Cody, and Heather gone, will anyone make it out alive?**

**Next episode: Duncan's Plan Revealed!**


	14. Duncan's Plan Revealed

**Chapter 14**

**Duncan's Plan Revealed**

"Here it is!" Duncan pointed out, seeming a little too excited to be where he was.

Courtney was thinking that, of all places, this would have been the last place he'd want to be.

"The police station?"

* * *

The Gates in front of the building were wide open. There weren't any creatures in sight, but there didn't seem to be any people around either.

"Duncan, are you going to get the police to help? What if no one is inside?"

The boy with the Mohawk didn't pay any mind to her. He ran to the big front doors to see if they were unlocked. They were.

"Yes! C'mon Princess!" he said as he opened the doors.

Courtney quickly ran inside, and Duncan closed the big doors behind them.

* * *

The CIT looked around the main hall. It was very empty. There was a big statue in the middle of the room, and what looked like a receptions desk behind it. Other than those, there didn't seem to be much else, not even people. It seemed as if the officers had vacated the premises.

"See? It looks like everyone is gone."

"I'm not looking for officers. Wait here. I'll be back." The delinquent said as he unlocked a door to the right of the entrance. He walked into a neighboring hallway, and closed the door behind him.

Courtney walked behind the reception desk and sat down in the chair. She rested her head on her hands. She was starting to feel sleepy.

"What is he up to…?" she asked herself as she slowly closed her eyes.

* * *

SLAM

"Yeah, we're in business now!"

Courtney jumped awake, startled by the loud noise.

"What? Huh? What is- Um, how long was I asleep?" she said as she wiped the drool that was hanging fro her mouth.

"Oh, about half an hour."

There was a big box sitting in front of the CIT's face. Duncan patted the box, smiling triumphantly.

"What's in the box?"

"Take a look for yourself, Princess." he said as he opened the box.

Courtney peered inside. There were a couple of handguns, a shotgun, and several boxes of ammunition for the firearms. There were also two handgun magazines lying on the desk. Duncan picked up one of the handguns and loaded one of the magazines. He handed it over to Courtney.

"This was your plan?"

"Yeah. I knew there would be some here. I found them in the armory. There are loads more where these came from." He smiled. "And that's not all!"

He grabbed a large case that was sitting on the floor and slammed it on the desk beside the box of guns.

Courtney looked confused.

"Duncan, what is this?"

"These, my dear, are Emergency Signal Flares"

Courtney's eyes widened. She got out of her chair and looked at the case of flares. She was starting to see what Duncan had in mind.

"This is your plan! We're going to use these to signal the others, aren't we?

The boy in the skull t-shirt nodded. He pulled out a megaphone and placed it on the desk next to the flares. Courtney's face lit up.

"You want to bring everyone together so we can all find a way out of here! You actually care about the other's safety! Duncan, you're amazing!"

She hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss.

He patted her on the back and said, "C'mon, lets take these to the roof and fire 'em off."

Courtney smiled and nodded at her boyfriend. Duncan grabbed the flares, and the two of them made their way to the roof.

**Next Episode: Moonlight Sonata**


	15. Moonlight Sonata

Author's Note- I recommend listening to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" during this chapter. You can find it on Youtube easily. Be sure to start the song when the first character in this chapter... well, read the first part, and you'll know when to start the song. As long as you listen to it while you read this chapter, you'll be good. Alright, read on!

**Chapter 15**

**Moonlight Sonata**

In a lone apartment room, Gwen slowly made her way over to a piano. It was dusty, so she bent over to blow the dust off of the 88 keys. She sat down on the bench in front of the piano, and read the title of the sheet music that had been left resting on the piano.

"Moonlight Sonata…"

She held out her arms, rested her fingers on the keys, and placed her feet by the foot pedals. She played the first note, and proceeded to play the song. An eerie yet beautiful melody echoed through the city.

* * *

Duncan and Courtney rushed out onto the police station's roof. Duncan ran to the center and placed the emergency flare case on the floor. He opened it up, and saw three buttons that corresponded to the three signal flares. He pushed the first one, and a bright red light shot out from the case into the night sky.

Courtney walked over to Duncan and wrapped her arms around him. They looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

A bright red light lit up the streets. Two bodies lying in the street glowed in the light. Their faces were no longer recognizable, but their striped shirts and pink shorts were.

* * *

Geoff, Bridgette, DJ, and Ezekiel walked out from the subway station back to the surface, dirty, sweaty, and tired. They looked up at the sky and saw the bright red light shoot out into the sky. Their faces lit up, and they started running towards where the signal flare had been deployed. Bridgette and Geoff held each other's hands tightly as they ran while DJ carried a sickly, but slightly relieved, Ezekiel on his back.

* * *

The road near the hospital, a red glow was reflected in the dilated eyes of the tech-geek that lay there.

* * *

Justin could see the light shining through the ambulance's windshield. He nudged the egghead that had fallen asleep in the seat beside him. Noah woke up, startled. The know-it-all looked at the model, annoyed, and then turned his attention to the light in the sky. He nodded to Justin, who quietly nodded back. He started up the vehicle and started driving back towards the center of the city.

* * *

On the overpass, a bright red light illuminated the inside of a military truck. There was a pool of now dried blood. There wasn't anybody inside.

* * *

On the cobblestone path laid the bodies of dead animals. A dead zebra, the body of a turtle, and the corpses of monkeys were scattered about. A lion fell to the ground. It looked to be in the same condition that the people of the city were in, its skin missing and bones exposed. A figure stood over the lion's body; its fists covered dripping with the feline's blood.

The signal flare shined over zoo, revealing the lone figure. Eva flinched and raised her hand over her eyes to shield them fro the bright light. After adjusting her eyes, she looked at where the signal had come from. She wiped her hands on her shorts, and started running downtown.

* * *

In the high school, the red light leaked through the windows, shining into the empty hallways. The light shined onto a locked janitor's closet.

* * *

Harold stood outside a convenience store, holding his pair of nunchuku tightly. He looked back and forth, scared that something would jump out at him. He saw a shadow and jumped in fright. He felt a little silly afterwards when he realized it was just a pile of trash bags.

A red light started to slowly light up the streets. Harold looked up and watched the flare rise up into the sky, and then quickly ran inside the convenience store.

* * *

The red light overhead shined down on a shattered store window, and the shards glistened on the sidewalk. The store's sign read "Kendo Gun Shop."

The store was missing some of its inventory.

* * *

Owen, Beth, and Lindsay all sat in a warehouse, panting heavily. All three jumped when the flare's bright light shined through the windows. The three of them walked over to see what it was, and watched as the flare glowed brilliantly in the sky.

* * *

Trent and Tyler dashed by a window in an apartment building, ignoring the red light shining in the sky. They ran to the nearest flight of stairs, following the sound of a piano being played on one of the higher floors. They were tired, but neither was about to slow down. Tyler tripped and rolled down the flight of stairs, but got right back up and continued climbing floor to floor with Trent.

Trent had blocked everything out. All he cared about was finding the girl he loves.

* * *

Gwen stopped playing. She stood back up, and walked over to the window. The red flare reached its peak in the sky, and started falling back down to Earth. Its light was dimming, and soon the flare blended in with the rest of the city.

The Goth-girl placed one of her hands on the window.

"I hope everyone is safe…"

She stopped for a moment. She rose her head and looked at the moon.

"Trent…"

**Will everyone finally come together?**

**Next Episode: Tragedy**


	16. Tragedy

Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I've been very busy the past couple of weeks, with work, dance performances, a black belt test, and my Halloween costume! (btw, i'm dressing up as duncan! its pretty cool, i must say. i may post photos on my deviantart account.) anyways, on with the story!

**Chapter 16**

**Tragedy**

The red flare's light disappeared in the sky. Courtney and Duncan were holding each other. They stood quietly, still looking at the dark sky up above.

Courtney suddenly looked like she had just realized something, and pushed away from Duncan.

"Hey! What was that for, Princess?" the punk said in protest.

She didn't answer back, and was making a dash for the door leading to the stairwell. She flung open the door, and ran inside.

"Hold up, where're you going?"

Duncan chased after her, slamming the stairwell door behind him.

The CIT was in the police station lobby. As Duncan ran in, Courtney pulled something from the box of guns and started making her way towards the big front doors.

Duncan quickly caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing? What'chu have there?"

Courtney showed him the megaphone he had brought down earlier, and waved it in the air.

"I'm going to go see if anyone is close by. Its so quiet in this city, I'm sure they'll be able to hear me through the megaphone!"

Duncan smiled.

"Great idea! C'mon, lets go back up to the roof and call them from there!"

He looked towards the stairwell, and then looked back. Courtney was already outside, the big front doors closing behind her.

"Courtney!"

Duncan grabbed one of the loaded guns on the receptions desk and ran after her.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! ITS COURTNEY! IF YOU CAN, FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY VOICE! ME AND DUNCAN WILL BE WAITING AT THE POLICE STATION!"

Courtney was running down the street shouting her announcement. Duncan caught a glimpse of her as she ran by.

"Courtney, get back here! Stop yelling like that!"

He ran as fast as he could, trying to catch up with her. She continued to run straight down the street, yelling out the same message as before.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! ITS COURTNEY! IF YOU CAN, FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY VOICE! ME AND DUNCAN WILL BE WAITING AT THE POLICE STATION!"

Duncan tried to call out to her, but she wouldn't listen.

"Damn it, Courtney, stop running! Its not safe!"

They had run a good distance. Having passed by the High School, the CIT headed towards an upcoming bridge that crossed over a large river. She ran out onto the bridge, and called out her message one last time.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! ITS COURTNEY! IF YOU CAN, FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY VOICE! ME AND DUNCAN WILL BE WAITING AT THE POLICE STATION!"

She turned of the megaphone and turned back to see Duncan catching up with her.

"There, now anyone here knows where to find us!"

Duncan ran up to her and grabbed her arm forcefully.

"What are you thinking? Are you crazy?"

"I was just trying to make sure everyone knows where to go. Why? Is that bad?"

Duncan face was serious.

"I thought you had more sense than this. There are still monsters roaming around here! Now they'll be coming here, following your voice!"

Courtney's heart sank as she finally realized that what she was doing was a mistake. She didn't want to admit to her fault though, and tried her best to play it off.

"Don't worry, Duncan. We'll be fine as long as we make it back to the police station quickly."

She walked past him, her eyes closed with fake confidence. The quietly thought to herself how there was no way she had messed up.

_I never mess up_…

She heard a groan in front of her.

The CIT slowly opened her eyes. In front of her was the decaying woman that had attacked her back when the challenge first started. Courtney backed away, and saw that behind the woman stood maybe 15 others that were in the same condition as the woman.

"No…"

Duncan noticed the mob the same moment that Courtney did.

"Courtney, watch out!"

He grabbed her shirt and pulled her behind him. He pulled out the handgun he had from his waist, and aimed it at the woman leading the mob. He pulled the trigger twice, and hit the woman twice in the chest. She only staggered, and then continued her pursuit on the two teens.

Duncan growled.

"Rrrr, take this!"

He shot wildly at the crowd, hitting several of the monsters square in the foreheads. The one that were shot in the head fell to the ground and didn't get back up. However, there were still far too many of them still standing.

Duncan pulled the trigger again, but the gun only clicked. The magazine was empty.

"Shit, I'm out of bullets!"

The monsters closed in on the two teenagers. Duncan and Courtney backed towards the edge of the bridge. They could hear the sound of the river below them.

One of the monsters reached out at Courtney, and managed to grab her shirt collar.

"Oh no you don't!"

Duncan slammed his fist into the monster's face, knocking it back to the crowd.

"Take that, you freak!"

Courtney shouted.

"Duncan, watch out!"

The woman that first attacked Courtney grabbed Duncan by the shoulders and was leaning in to take a chunk out of his neck. Duncan managed to grab onto the woman just in time, and struggled to keep her from biting him.

The woman was pressing all of her weight on Duncan, pushing him closer and closer to the bridge's edge. Using all his strength, he turned the woman around, throwing her over the edge. As the woman fell over the edge, she grabbed Duncan's shirt, pulling him over the railing with her. As the woman fell to the water below, Duncan reached out and grabbed one of the steel beams just below the bridge's surface.

"Duncan!"

Courtney looked down at her boyfriend, who was holding on for dear life.

"Hold on, grab my hand!"

The brown-haired girl reached over the side of the bridge and offered her hand to Duncan. He reached his hand out to her's. There were only a couple of centimeters between them. Both stretched out towards each other.

"Don't worry, I almost have you…"

Something grabbed Courtney's shoulder.

Duncan lost his grip, and started falling to the river.

He looked up at Courtney as she yelled for him.

"Duncan!"

The arm on her shoulder pulled her back from the edge. She screamed.

"DUNCAN! AHHHHHHHHHhhhh…"

Duncan's heart sank and eyes widened.

"COURTNEYYYYYYYYYYY!"

He shouted as he landed in the water below.

"COUGH! COUGH!"

Duncan was hunched over on the ground, completely soaked with water. He was coughing up mouthfuls of water.

"Cough…"

He stared down at the ground. There were drops fall from his face, but they weren't water drops. His eyes were filled with tears that uncontrollably fell from his face. He couldn't make a sound. He just remained hunched over and silent.

He finally took a deep breath. He muttered something that was only barely recognizable.

"Courtney…"

He lowered his head and rested it on the concrete, silently crying.

There was the sound of footsteps nearby. A thin, lanky figure slowly made its way towards Duncan. The figure's shadow fell over Duncan, though the crying delinquent failed to notice.

The figure gave a wheezy gasp.

"…Duncan?"

Duncan looked up. In-between his sobs, he managed to say a name.

"…Harold?"

**Duncan is far from his police-station-safe-house, and has lost the one he loves. With Harold's arrival, will the two one-time enemies team up, or will they butt heads?**

**Next episode: We Found Her**


	17. We Found Her

Author's note: I just want to apologize. We are going to be taking a brief break from Duncan's story, and revisit two other characters who are separated from their loves.

**Chapter 17**

**We Found Her**

"Dude, I think it was coming from that door over there!"

Trent and Tyler ran across the hallway to a door with the room number "777".

"What makes you think that it's that apartment?"

"Trust me, that's where it came from."

Tyler paused for a second.

"The number looks like it might be pretty lucky."

Trent rolled his eyes.

Grabbing the doorknob, he hoped in his heart that Gwen would be on the other side of the door. He turned the doorknob, but it was locked.

"Of course. If she were in there, she'd lock the door to keep anything out."

Trent smiled.

"She's so smart."

Tyler suddenly got frustrated. Trent could tell by his face.

"Well, this door being locked doesn't make finding her any easier! Back up, I got this!"

Tyler got into a ready position, holding his hands in front o his face as if her were going to fight someone. He swung one of his legs at the door, making it shake a little. Determined as always, Tyler prepared himself for a second kick. Trent backed up behind the Jock, expecting something wrong to happen. Tyler threw out a second kick, but the door wouldn't open.

"Gah! Open already!" Tyler said with gritted teeth.

He started to kick wildly at the door, making so much noise that it echoed throughout the entire apartment building. He noticed that the door's hinges started to give way, and a smile crossed his face.

"Ha! This is it!"

He reared back, getting ready for what he wanted to be his strongest kick.

Trent knew what was coming next.

"Hey, wait! Don't-"

Tyler slammed the bottom of his foot into the door. The door finally gave in, falling back into a dark hallway. Tyler fell along with it, landing face first on the ground.

"Oww!"

Trent looked through the now exposed hallway. In a room at the end of the hall stood a Gwen, her figure illuminated by moonlit windows behind her. Both looked at each other, eyes wide. Neither said a word.

Slowly, Trent started to walk forward. Stepping over Tyler, the musician made his way down the hall. Finally standing in front of Gwen, the two stared into each other's eyes, both still not saying a word.

Trent finally smiled.

"Gwen…"

Gwen, in a surge of emotion, threw herself at Trent. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face into his chest as uncontrollable tears ran down her face. Trent held her tightly, not willing to let her go.

"Trent… Trent, I'm so- so happy… so happy that…you…" Gwen managed to say between sobs.

"Don't worry. I'm here, and I'll never let anything happen to you."

Gwen looked up at Trent. Her tears had made her make-up run. Trent couldn't help but laugh when he saw the black streaks running down his girlfriend's face.

The Goth-girl realized what he was laughing about, and lightly slapped his cheek.

"Shut up." she said with a smile.

Tyler had finally gotten up and walked over to where the couple was standing.

"Alright, we found your girl! Now we just need to find Lindsay!"

Tyler pumped his fist in excitement.

"You guys are looking for Lindsay too?" asked Gwen.

"Yeah. Me and Tyler have been looking everywhere for you and her."

Gwen smiled at her boyfriend, and then ran over to one of the windows overlooking the city.

"I think I know here we might find Lindsay." She said as she pointed out the window.

"Someone shot up some sort of signal flare a short while ago. They must be trying to get everyone together."

"Way cool! Someone out there is playin' smart! I wonder who it could be?" Trent said as he walked over to the window.

"Where did the flare come from?"

Gwen pointed out to a building near the heart of the city. Tyler walked over and joined the other two. He looked at the couple beside him, and suddenly lost his bravado. He sighed.

"That looks like it could be City Hall, or maybe a police station."

Trent put his hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"I'm sure Lindsay is safe, dude. She's probably already there now."

Tyler smiled, but his face was still filled with worry. He walked over to a dinner table and sat in one of the chairs. The Jock put his face in his hands, heaving another heavy sigh.

"I'm sure she's perfectly fine, man."

"I'm just worried, dude." Said Tyler as he turned to Trent.

"I know she isn't smart enough to come up with something like that. What if she isn't there? What if she's in trouble?"

While they knew Lindsay wasn't exactly the brightest, this was the first time they had seen Tyler's spirit like this. Trent knew he had to find some way to lift his spirit.

"Tyler, listen."

The Jock looked at Trent and Gwen.

"Man, I can guarantee you that Lindsay is safe. Whether she's where the flare was shot or somewhere else, she has friends who I know will keep her safe."

Gwen jumped in.

"And when you find her, you can protect her from those monsters, like a knight or something."

Tyler was surprised by Gwen's positive tone.

Trent pumped his fist and smiled.

"You helped me find Gwen. No matter where Lindsay is, I'll help you find her. We're a team!"

Tyler looked at the couple and smiled. Regaining his confidence, he stood up and pumped his fist the same way Trent had.

"You're right! We're a team!"

The mood in the room suddenly got brighter.

"Together, we can find Lindsay and everyone else! We'll get out of this hell-hole together!" Tyler said, standing up from his chair.

"Yeah, we can do it!" Trent said excitedly.

"YEAH! LET'S DO IT!"

CRASH!

The ceiling overhead blew open. Dust and debris filled the room, forcing Trent and Gwen to duck and cover their eyes. There was another crashing sound, and then it grew quiet.

When the dust settled, Trent opened his eyes. There was a big hole in the ceiling, about 5 feet wide. There was another big hole in the floor about the same width right where the dinning table had stood.

Tyler was nowhere to be seen.

**What has happened to Tyler? What crashed through the ceiling?**

**Next episode: Snake Fangs**


	18. Snake Fangs

**Chapter 18**

**Snake Fangs**

Gwen and Trent looked around, wiping the dust off from their clothes. The moonlit room was silent.

"Tyler!" yelled Trent, hoping for a response.

There was no reply.

Gwen walked over to the newly made hole in the floor, looking down into the room below. She was at a loss for words when she looked up into the hole in the ceiling. She could see that the hole started several floors above her.

"What was that crash? And where's Tyler?" asked Trent as he walked over to Gwen.

The Goth-girl got on her knees and peered into the room below.

"Tyler!" she called into the room.

She waited for a response.

"Tyler!" she called again.

She could hear some movement coming from the room. She tried one more time.

"Tyler…?"

Suddenly, a huge mass dashed out from the hole, knocking Gwen into the air. She landed a few feet back, near where Trent was standing. Trent rushed to her, making sure she was okay. There was a loud thud in front of them, and the sound of something sliding on the floor. The couple looked up, and was filled with shock and disbelief.

There, in front of them, raising its head up into the air was a snake so big that it could barely fit in the room they were in. Its long body coiled on the floor, and its bright yellow eyes were fixated on the two campers standing in front of it. The couple froze like stone, as if they were staring at the mythical Medusa itself. The giant serpent hissed, and something fell from its mouth as its tongue flickered in and out of its mouth. Trent managed to take his eyes off of the snake for a second, catching a glance of what had fallen to the ground.

It was a red headband…Tyler's headband.

"Tyler…" Trent said, in shock.

Gwen looked and caught sight of the headband. She gasped, and quickly covered her mouth to stifle an uncontrollable scream.

Gwen's sudden movement didn't go unnoticed by the giant snake, and its eyes focused on the Goth-girl. It let out a hiss and slowly reared its head back. It spread its mouth slowly.

Trent saw the snake pulling its head back, and quickly looked at Gwen. He knew what was coming.

"Gwen, watch out!"

In that same instant, the snake snapped forward, launching itself head first at Gwen. Trent jumped at his girlfriend, hoping to push her out of the way. He slammed his body against her, knocking her safely to the side. Gwen landed with a thud, not even realizing what had happened since it all had happened so fast.

The snake came flying towards them, barely missing its intended target. It slithered by, seemingly satisfied with its attack. It held something else in its mouth.

"GAAAH!"

Gwen got to her feet and turned to see where the shouting came from.

Trent was being dragged across the floor, his left arm stuck in the snake's mouth. Blood was running from his arm and soaking his camo shirt. A fang was piercing his forearm. He was screaming out in pain as he continued to be dragged across the floor.

"UGH! AGH! AAAHHHH!"

Gwen looked around frantically. She saw the nearby kitchen, and spotted the knife rack on the counter. The Goth-girl rushed and grabbed the first knife she could, which just happened to be the largest. She ran back to where the snake was, her boots stomping loudly. The snake stopped momentarily and held the bleeding Trent high in the air, ready to devour the musician. Gwen ran to the snake and drove the knife into the snake as deep as she could. She then quickly pulled the blade across the snake's body, making a large gash in the snake's side.

The snake cried out in pain, dropping Trent down to the floor. The dark haired boy moaned as he lay across the floor. Gwen grabbed her boyfriend and helped him up. She wrapped his arm over her shoulder and carried him to the large hole in the floor. She tried to gently lower Trent down to the room below, but lost her grip and dropped him when she couldn't reach down anymore.

"Sorry Trent."

She jumped in after him as the snake continued to flail about, writhing in pain.

* * *

Gwen put a hand to her chest as she panted for breath. She looked at Trent lying down beside her.

"Trent, are you okay?"

Trent tried to sit himself up. He struggled, but managed to prop himself up on a bookcase behind him.

"Y-yeah…I'm alright…" he managed to say.

His face was very pale.

Gwen looked at her boyfriend and knew something was wrong. She watched as he tried to stand up. Trent pulled himself up to his feet, but collapsed suddenly. Gwen rushed to his side.

"Its…its hard to…hard to…m-move…" Trent stuttered.

He tried to put his hand on Gwen's, but his arm suddenly went numb. He wasn't even able to lift his arm anymore. Gwen couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Then she had a sudden realization.

"Venom…" she thought to herself.

"That snake must be poisonous, and it's poisoned Trent…"

"There has got to be something we can do!" Gwen blurted out.

CRASH!

The giant snake crashed into the room, blood seeping out from the cut Gwen carved in its side. It glared at Gwen, its eyes burning with intensity.

"Oh no…" Gwen said, trying to pull Trent out of the way.

The snake shot out at the couple. Gwen managed to pull Trent out of the way just in time, and the snake slammed its head into the bookcase, splintering much of the wood. The giant serpent collapsed to the ground as books poured from the shelf. The bookshelf had been knocked off balance, and Gwen took this opportunity to give the shelf a push. The shelf crashed down onto the snake. When the dust and debris settled, she could tell the snake wasn't moving.

Gwen let out a long sigh and tried to help her boyfriend up.

"Gwen…d-don'…'orry about…me…" Trent stammered.

It seemed like the venom was taking its toll on him. Tears started running down Gwen's face.

"No, it's going to be okay. We'll get out of here and find help. We will!"

There was a sudden sharp, piercing pain in Gwen's right leg. Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw the snake's mouth clamped on her leg. She let out an ear-shattering scream.

"NOOOOOO!" she cried.

Without hesitation, she dropped to the ground and thrust her other foot at the snake's mouth, kicking at the tooth buried in her leg. The girl managed to knock the fang loose, freeing her leg. Gwen pulled her leg free and noticed that the fang was still stuck in her leg. She pulled it out and before the snake could do anything, she drove the tooth into the snake's right eye. She pushed it deeper and deeper, driving it into the monster's brain. The creature shook its head violently, but was unable to move out from under the bookshelf. Before long, its head fell to the ground, motionless.

* * *

Gwen pulled Trent over to a nearby bedroom, and managed to get him onto the bed. She stepped back and looked at him. He lay there motionless, his eyes closed.

Gwen felt dizzy, and knew it was the venom taking effect. She got on the bed and laid down next to Trent.

After lying there for a short while, she tried to turn her head towards Trent. She found it hard for her to move, and she had lost all feeling in most of her muscles.

With he last bit of energy, Gwen reached her hand out and held Trent's hand. Tears were running down her face again. She knew this was the end. To her surprise, she felt Trent's hand tighten around her's. It grasped her hand tightly, and she held his just the same. Gwen smiled as the warmth she felt from Trent slowly disappeared as she gradually lost feeling in her hand.

The two laid quietly on the bed, motionless, both with smiles on their faces.

**And so the horrors of the night claim three more lives: Tyler, who will never reunite with Lindsay, and the cozy couple of Gwen and Trent.**

**What awaits the remaining survivors? RE:TDI continues with-**

**Next Chapter: Back to School  
**


End file.
